Cocker Spaniel Health Tests for Breeding — Screening List

For English cocker spaniels, the breeding baseline is three things: a current BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme examination on both parents, a BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme score on both parents, and DNA results for familial nephropathy (FN) and prcd-PRA. American cocker spaniels follow a different breed-club panel built around hip and eye evaluation plus breed-specific DNA tests. Working and show lines are the same breed and carry the same inherited risks — the tests do not change because a dog hunts rather than shows. If you are buying a puppy rather than breeding one, your job is simpler and stricter: see the certificates, in the parents' registered names, before money changes hands.

The core panel for english cocker spaniels

Eyes — the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme. This is a clinical examination by an approved ophthalmologist, not a DNA test. The English cocker spaniel is listed under the scheme for hereditary cataract and generalised progressive retinal atrophy. Because both conditions can appear later in life, a single certificate from a young dog proves very little. The scheme is built around repeat examination, so ask for a certificate dated close to the mating rather than one from three years ago. Schedules are reviewed periodically, so check the current list for the breed before you plan a litter.

Hips — the BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme. Each hip is scored on a scale from 0 to 53 and the two are added together, giving a total between 0 and 106. Lower is better. A single score means nothing in isolation; what matters is how it compares to the published breed median score, which the Kennel Club keeps on its website and updates as more dogs are scored. Look for parents at or below the current breed median, and look at the scores of their close relatives too, because hips are polygenic and the wider family tells you more than one dog does.

Familial nephropathy (FN). An inherited kidney disease in English cocker spaniels, caused by a known mutation, with a straightforward DNA test. Results come back as clear, carrier or affected. Two clear parents cannot produce an affected puppy. A carrier bred to a clear dog cannot produce an affected puppy either — carriers are not automatically excluded from a breeding programme, they are simply paired carefully.

prcd-PRA. Progressive rod-cone degeneration is one form of progressive retinal atrophy with a recognised DNA test in the breed. Same three-result structure: clear, carrier, affected. Important nuance that catches people out — a DNA test for prcd-PRA does not cover every form of PRA. That is precisely why the clinical eye examination sits alongside it rather than being replaced by it.

The Kennel Club maintains a current list of DNA tests it recognises and records for each breed, and that list changes as new tests are validated. Check it directly rather than relying on a breeder's summary.

Working cockers, american cockers and show lines

A working cocker is an English cocker spaniel. The eye scheme, hip scheme, FN and prcd-PRA apply identically. Working lines are sometimes screened less consistently than show lines simply because the dogs are bought on performance rather than paperwork, which is a cultural habit rather than a genetic exemption. If anything, a dog expected to quarter cover all day has more riding on sound hips.

American cocker spaniels are a separate breed with their own panel, generally centred on hip evaluation, annual ophthalmologist eye examination, and breed-club DNA testing. In the United States, the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) publishes the breed-specific requirements for a CHIC number, which is the simplest way to see what the parent club expects. PennHIP is an alternative hip evaluation method some breeders use alongside or instead of OFA scoring.

Solid-colour and parti-colour English cockers are the same breed, but congenital deafness is more associated with parti-colour and roan patterning across spaniel breeds generally. BAER hearing testing is a straightforward, non-invasive way to check a puppy's hearing, and some breeders do it routinely on parti-colour litters. It is worth asking about.

What the paperwork should show before you pay a deposit

The single most useful habit a puppy buyer can build is asking to see the actual documents rather than accepting the phrase fully health tested, which has no legal definition and is used to mean anything from a full panel to a vet poking the mother's ribs.

Test	What it looks for	What you should be shown	What good looks like
BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme	Hereditary cataract, generalised PRA, other inherited eye disease	Signed eye certificate with the dog's registered name and KC number	Unaffected, dated recently, on both parents
BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme	Hip conformation and early dysplastic change	Hip scoring certificate with left/right and total score	Total at or below the current published breed median
Familial nephropathy (FN) DNA	Inherited kidney disease mutation	Laboratory DNA certificate	No mating that can produce an affected puppy
prcd-PRA DNA	One recognised form of retinal atrophy	Laboratory DNA certificate	No mating that can produce an affected puppy
BAER hearing test (optional)	Congenital deafness	BAER report, often done on the litter	Bilateral hearing
Elbow scheme / cardiac check (optional)	Elbow dysplasia, murmurs	Scheme certificate or vet report	Discussed honestly, not dismissed

Three practical checks. First, the name on every certificate should match the registered name of the parent, not a pet name. Second, use the Kennel Club's own Health Test Results Finder and Mate Select tools to confirm results independently — recorded results appear there, and a breeder who objects to you checking is telling you something. Third, ask for the litter's inbreeding coefficient relative to the breed average; the Kennel Club publishes a calculator for this and lower is generally preferable.

If a breeder is registered with the Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme, the scheme sets out which tests are required and which are recommended for the breed. Required and recommended are not the same thing, and the recommended column is where conscientious breeders distinguish themselves.

Health issues no DNA test will catch

Screening narrows inherited risk. It does not produce a puppy with a warranty.

Chronic ear disease is the most common day-to-day problem in the breed, driven by heavy pendulous ears and a warm, poorly ventilated canal — management, not genetics, is the lever there. Patellar luxation, cruciate injury, autoimmune conditions and the sudden-onset aggression sometimes called rage syndrome in solid-colour lines all sit outside the standard panel, either because no validated test exists or because inheritance is not simple enough to test for.

A health-tested pedigree lowers the odds of inherited disease; it does not eliminate them, and it says nothing at all about the soft-tissue injuries an active cocker picks up in a hedgerow. New puppy owners are often surprised by this. The cocker spaniel puppy health issues that actually show up in the first two years are more often ear infections, growth-plate strains from too much high-impact exercise too early, and the odd dramatic limp from a bad landing. Keep early exercise sensible, keep ears dry and checked, and get any limp that lasts more than a day or two looked at by your veterinarian rather than rested and hoped away.

Supporting a cocker through growth, work and recovery

Well-bred cockers are athletes with a long working life ahead of them, and the questions owners bring to pawgen tend to arrive later: a strained tendon after a season in heavy cover, a cruciate repair with months of controlled rehab ahead, a nine-year-old who has stopped clearing the stile.

K9-REPAIR is a BPC-157 and TB-500 peptide formulation made for dogs, and it is the stack a growing number of owners adopt alongside veterinary rehab rather than instead of it. BPC-157 is a synthetic peptide based on a sequence identified in gastric juice; research in animal models suggests it may support angiogenesis and the migration of the fibroblasts involved in tendon and ligament remodelling. TB-500 is a synthetic fragment related to thymosin beta-4, a naturally occurring protein involved in actin regulation and cell motility. That is the mechanism owners find compelling — it is emerging science, and it is science that is moving. BPC-157 and TB-500 are not FDA-approved veterinary drugs, and nothing here describes a result your dog will get.

What pawgen can tell you plainly is what is in the bottle: a defined two-peptide formulation with weight-based dosing guidance, third-party laboratory testing with certificates of analysis published for each batch, direct-to-door shipping, and a 60-day money-back guarantee. That is a deliberate contrast with the kitchen-sink mobility chew — twenty ingredients on a label, none of them at a quantity anyone will disclose, and a proprietary blend doing the hiding. Ask any brand for the certificate. If it does not exist, the number on the label is a marketing decision.

Key Takeaways

• English cocker spaniel breeding stock should have a current BVA/KC/ISDS eye certificate, a BVA/KC hip score, and DNA results for familial nephropathy and prcd-PRA.
• Hip scores run 0–106 in total, lower is better, and the only meaningful comparison is against the breed median published by the Kennel Club.
• DNA results read clear, carrier or affected; a carrier bred to a clear dog cannot produce an affected puppy, so carriers need not be culled from a programme.
• A prcd-PRA DNA clear result does not cover every form of PRA — the clinical eye examination still matters.
• Working cockers need exactly the same panel as show cockers; American cocker spaniels follow their own parent-club list, published through OFA in the United States.
• Verify results yourself through the Kennel Club's Health Test Results Finder and Mate Select rather than taking the phrase 'fully health tested' at face value.
• Screening reduces inherited risk; ear disease, injury and age-related mobility change still need active management.

Where your vet fits in

pawgen publishes the third-party certificates of analysis for K9-REPAIR batches on its COAs page, and the formulation itself is listed in the shop with weight-based guidance for discussing it with your own vet.

Your veterinarian owns the diagnosis and the treatment plan — the radiographs, the orthopaedic examination, the decision about whether a cruciate needs surgery, the prescriptions and the rehab schedule. None of that is replaceable, and nothing in this article is a reason to delay a consultation or change a prescribed medication. Talk to your veterinarian before adding anything to a recovering dog's routine, especially a puppy or a pregnant or nursing bitch, where dosing questions belong in the consulting room and nowhere else. Peptides and supplements work in the space that good veterinary care creates, not in place of it.

Owners exploring peptide support for their dog can review K9-REPAIR — BPC-157 + TB-500 formulated for dogs — at https://pawgen.com/. BPC-157 and TB-500 are not FDA-approved veterinary drugs. Nothing in this article treats, cures or prevents any condition; every decision about your dog's care belongs with your veterinarian.